United Nations Security Council Resolution 2539 –The situation in the Middle EastLetter from the President of the Council on the voting outcome (S/2020/853) and voting details (S/2020/857)

Resolution 2539 (2020)

The Security Council,

Recalling all its previous resolutions on Lebanon, in particular resolutions 425 (1978), 426 (1978), 1559 (2004), 1680 (2006), 1701 (2006), 1773 (2007), 1832 (2008), 1884 (2009), 1937 (2010) and 2004 (2011), 2064 (2012), 2115 (2013), 2172 (2014) and 2236 (2015), 2305 (2016), 2373 (2017), 2433 (2018) and 2485 (2019) as well as the statements of its President on the situation in Lebanon and the Press statements dated 19 December 2016, 27 March 2018, 9 August 2018, 8 February 2019,

Expressing its solidarity with Lebanon and its people in the aftermath of the explosions which struck Beirut on 4 August 2020, causing a significant number of casualties and wounding thousands of people, including some UNIFIL personnel, and causing severe damages to commercial and residential infrastructures as well as to UNIFIL capacities, and welcoming the International Conference on Assistance and Support to Lebanon and Beirut, organized on the 9 August 2020 by France and the United Nations, further calling the international community to reinforce its support to Lebanon and its people in that context,

Calling for the swift formation of a new Government which can respond to the needs and aspirations of the Lebanese population and the current main challenges Lebanon is facing, in particular the reconstruction of Beirut and the reforms, absolutely necessary to overcome and recover from the current and unprecedented acute social and economic crisis,

Taking due note of the approval, by the Government of Lebanon, of an economic plan as well as of its decision to request an IMF program, stressing the urgent need for the Lebanese authorities to respond to the aspirations of the Lebanese people by implementing meaningful economic reforms, and notably the commitments made in the framework of the CEDRE conference as well as at the International Support Group for Lebanon meeting held in Paris on the 11 December 2019 and reiterating, on the basis of those necessary reforms, support to Lebanon to help it exit the current crisis and to address the economic, security, humanitarian challenges, as well as the impact of COVID-19 facing the country, and called upon the international community, including international organizations, to do so,

Commending UNIFIL for the preventive measures taken to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and recalling resolution 2532 and its request to the Secretary-General to instruct peace-keeping operations to provide support, within their mandates andcapacities, to host country authorities in their efforts to contain the pandemic, in particular to facilitate humanitarian access, including to internally displaced persons and refugee camps and allow for medical evacuations, as well as its request to the Secretary-General and Member States to take all appropriate steps to protect the safety, security and health of all UN personnel in UN peace operations, while maintaining the continuity of operations, and to take further steps towards the provision of training for peacekeeping personnel on issues related to pre venting the spread of COVID-19,

Responding to the request of the Government of Lebanon to extend the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) for a period of one year without amendment presented in a letter from the Lebanese Foreign Minister to the Secretary-General of 2 June 2020 and welcoming the letter from the Secretary-General to its President of 29 July 2020 (S/2020/760) recommending this extension,

Reiterating its strong support for the territorial integrity, sovereignty and political independence of Lebanon,

Reaffirming its commitment to the full implementation of all provisions of resolution 1701 (2006), and aware of its responsibilities to help secure a permanent ceasefire and a long-term solution as envisioned in the resolution,

Expressing deep concern at the continued lack of progress made towards the establishment of a permanent ceasefire and other key provisions of resolution 1701 (2006) fourteen years after its adoption,

Calling upon all concerned parties to strengthen their efforts, including by exploring concrete solutions with the Special Coordinator of the Secretary-General and the UNIFIL Force Commander, to fully implement all provisions of resolution 1701 (2006) without delay,

Expressing deep concern at all violations, both by air and ground, in connection with resolution 1701 (2006) as underlined by the Secretary-General in his reports, and recalling the importance of control of the Government of Lebanon over all Lebanese territory,

Underlining the risk that violations of the cessation of hostilities could lead to a new conflict that none of the parties or the region can afford,

Urging all parties to make every effort to ensure that the cessation of hostilities is sustained, exercise maximum calm and restraint and refrain from any action or rhetoric that could jeopardize the cessation of hostilities or destabilize the region,

Condemning the incidents of August-September 2019 and of the 14 April 2020 of 17 April 2020, and of 27 July 2020 which occurred across the Blue line, calling on the parties to resort to the Tripartite Mechanism when such incidents occur, and further commending the liaison and prevention role played by UNIFIL allowing for de-escalation,

Emphasizing to all parties the importance of full compliance with the prohibition on sales and supply of arms and related materiel established by resolution 1701 (2006),

Recalling the utmost importance that all parties concerned respect the Blue Line in its entirety, noting with great and increasing concern that UNIFIL still has not been able to access all relevant locations north of the Blue Line related to the discovery of tunnels crossing the Blue Line which UNIFIL reported as a violation of resolution 1701 (2006), and urging the Lebanese authorities to urgently conclude all necessary investigations on the matter, in line with resolution 1701 (2006),

Welcoming the continued progress in the marking of the Blue Line, and encouraging the parties to accelerate their efforts in coordination with UNIFIL, including through the tripartite mechanism, to continue working in the ongoing process to delineate and visibly mark the Blue Line in its entirety, as well as to move forward on the marking of its points of contention, as recommended by the Strategic Review,

Condemning in the strongest terms all attempts to threaten the security and stability of Lebanon,

Reaffirming its determination to ensure that no such acts of intimidation prevent UNIFIL from implementing its mandate in accordance with Security Council resolution 1701 (2006), recalling the necessity for all parties to ensure that UNIFIL personnel are secure and their freedom of movement is fully respected and unimpeded and continues to respect the separate, supporting mandate under which Observer Group Lebanon operates, condemning in the strongest terms all attacks against peacekeepers, including the attacks against UNIFIL forces on 4 August 2018 near the town of Majdal Zun, on 25 May 2020 in the town of Belida Southern Lebanon, and on the 10 February 2020, in Brashit,

Urging the Lebanese authorities to swiftly provide UNIFIL with further updates and finalise investigations on this matter,

Reiterating the importance of the extension of the control of the Government of Lebanon over all Lebanese territory in accordance with the provisions of resolution 1559 (2004) and resolution 1680 (2006), and of the relevant provisions of the Taif Accords,

Encouraging all Lebanese parties to resume discussions towards a consensus on a National Defence Strategy as set out by the President of Lebanon and the Lebanese Defense Minister on 29 April 2019, in accordance with relevant Security Council resolutions and the Taif Agreement,

Welcoming Lebanon’s first National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security, and encouraging the Government of Lebanon to fully implement it, with the support of UNIFIL and women’s civil society groups, as soon as possible and to ensure the full, effective, and meaningful participation of women at all levels of decision-making in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security,

Recalling the importance of ensuring the protection of children and taking appropriate measures in this regard, in line with relevant Security Council resolutions on Children and armed conflict,

Recalling the relevant principles contained in the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel,

Commending the active role and dedication of the personnel of UNIFIL and expressing its strong appreciation to Member States that contribute to UNIFIL and underlining the necessity that UNIFIL has at its disposal all necessary means and equipment to carry out its mandate,

Recalling the request from the Government of Lebanon to deploy an international force to assist it to exercise its authority throughout the territory, and reaffirming UNIFIL’s authority to take all necessary action in areas of operations of its forces and as it deems within its capabilities, to ensure that its area of operations is not utilized for hostile activities of any kind and to resist attempts by forceful means to prevent it from discharging its mandate,

Welcoming the crucial role played by the Lebanese Armed Forces and security forces, as the only legitimate armed forces in Lebanon, in extending and sustaining the authority of the Government of Lebanon, in particular in southern Lebanon, and responding to other security challenges, including the threat of terrorism, and the strong international commitment to support the Lebanese Armed Forces, which has helped strengthen the capability of the Lebanese Armed Forces to provide security for Lebanon, urging further international support to the Lebanese Armed Forces in the context of the current economic crisis, and further noting the relevance of this increased capacity in relation to their efforts to coordinate with UNIFIL in the implementation of the UNIFIL mandate,

Recalling resolution 2378 (2017) and its request of the Secretary-General to ensure that data related to the effectiveness of peacekeeping operations, including peacekeeping performance data, is used to improve analytics and the evaluation of mission operations, based on clear and well identified benchmarks, further recalling resolution 2436 (2018) and its request of the Secretary-General to ensure that decisions to recognize and incentivize outstanding performance and decisions regarding deployment, remediation, training, withholding of financial reimbursement, and repatriation of uniformed or dismissal of civilian personnel, are predicated on objective performance data, and emphasizing the need to regularly evaluate UNIFIL’s performance such that the mission retains the skills and flexibility needed to effectively carry out its mandate,

Also recalling resolution 2242 (2015) and its request of the Secretary-General to initiate, in collaboration with Member States, a revised strategy, within existing resources, to double the number of women in military and police contingents of UN peacekeeping operations,

Emphasizing the need to regularly review all peacekeeping operations to ensure efficiency and effectiveness, including reviews of UNIFIL when appropriate, taking into account developments on the ground,

Bearing in mind the strategic priorities and recommendations identified by the Secretary-General in his letter of 12 March 2012 (S/2012/151) as a result of the Strategic Review of UNIFIL, taking note of his letter of 8 March 2017 (S/2017/202) as a result of the most recent Strategic Review of UNIFIL, and expressing the need for a follow-up and update,

Welcoming the Secretary-General’s 1 June 2020 Assessment of UNIFIL and noting with appreciation the recommendations to further increase the efficiency and effectiveness of UNIFIL,

Calling upon Member States to assist the Lebanese Armed Forces as needed to enable it to perform its duties in line with resolution 1701 (2006),

Determining that the situation in Lebanon continues to constitute a threat to international peace and security,

Adopted by the Security Council on 28 August 2020.